Christmas is a wonderful time of the year. It’s a time of
giving, sharing, receiving, and love. All over America and in many places
around the world people are doing just that. Children are ecstatic wondering
what is they will receive in the brightly packaged gifts and colorful
stockings, while Mom and Dad, or Mom or Dad, Grandma or Grandpa, or a caretaker,
or someone in authority (whew!)—joyfully watch as they tear the paper to shreds
revealing the gift, or hopefully, the hope of their heart. In this is a valid
scriptural truth and not to be sneered at that parents know how to give good
gifts to their children.

Jesus is
well aware of this. In fact, he was quick to reference it in relation to the
Father in Heaven being even more gracious than we! He stated, “If you
then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more
will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!”Matthew 7:11 (ESV) God our Father created us to have
emotion. The greatest of them is love. We who have been loved will understand
the worth of the sentiment. Therefore, we freely give out that which we have
received. If we were to step back a moment and consider the love that fills our
hearts for the little ones we are given—by His grace—we can experience and even
greater understanding and appreciation for how much God loves those who are
His.

In James
1:17 (ESV) we read:

Every
good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of
lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

Some of the gifts
God bestows to all people (also known as general Grace) are life, breath, hope,
the five senses, each other, and a chance to inherit eternal life with Him in
heaven. These are all "Good Gifts" of love. It is a sad fact that often these gifts are just taken for granted
without giving thanks in return. That alone can be seen at a more devastating
level when we consider those who have chosen to reject Him as the one and only
true Lord of all life.

Christmas reminds us
that a Babe came into the world free of the “Robe of Heavens Royalty” to don
the lowly “Swaddling Cloth of humility”. Cradled in the stable manger he was
most likely subjected to differing temperatures. Stables were not generally
heated in a place like Bethlehem where fuel was scarce and costly. This teaches
that He came into the world to not only relate to us as humans, but to
experience what we experience. When the cold wind blew it would be Mary that
would tuck Him into her breast hiding Him from the effects of the world as she
tried to cradle the Savior in warmth. It would be Mary with Joseph her husband,
that would lead, teach, feed, and shelter the Lord as He grew into manhood where
he would finally don another robe, the robe of rejection that succinctly symbolizes
the cruelty that the world can give. It would be these unloving and unruly
people who would make up the crowd of persecutors gifting Him with sneers and
jeers—shouts of hatred—as He was helplessly led to the cross of salvation.

Christmas reminds us
that life begins in a dependent state. No one can come into the world
independently. From conception onward, life is embraced through dependence upon
another. The womb of Mary was necessary to bring forth the Savior just as the
womb of our own mothers was necessary to bring us into the world. But
dependency does not end there. Once we see the first light dependency becomes
even greater. While in the womb we abide and we grow. Out of the womb we must
rely on hope—hope that our mother will feed us, nurture us and keep us clean.

Is spiritual life any different? Once we become a
child of God can we make it on our own? Only if works were the answer could we
even begin to take a step or draw a breath. But the Scripture teaches
differently, doesn’t it?

For by grace you have been saved through
faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works,
so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

Christmas gives us
hope. God’s greatest gift to the world was the Lord Jesus Christ! Just as he
came into the world in a humble state so we must come into His world in a
humble state. We must recognize our dependency is on Him alone for life. He
warms our hearts, gives us His life and dons us with His Robe of Righteousness!

Robed

Because of this, is
it any wonder that the Father would declare His gift to us in the following
manner? “For to us a child is born, to us a son is
given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be
called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)

Prayer:

How many ways can we
praise thee oh Lord? For Your works are beyond our imaginations. Your will was
to provide redemption for mankind but never could we suppose that a Babe would
be the chosen route You would take. Thank you for Jesus! In His name we
approach thy throne, amen

The Sifted Generation is a resource to help believers understand the seriousness of what is confronting us. It also gives loving counsel on how to face the coming onslaught and reveals why our generation is witnessing the alarming rise of darkness. The world is choosing its sides and the stage is being set for soon return of the Lord Jesus Christ!